


best friends

by puppetclown



Category: Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: Fluff, M/M, One Shot, soft
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-01
Updated: 2020-05-01
Packaged: 2021-02-23 05:53:44
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,003
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23940064
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/puppetclown/pseuds/puppetclown
Summary: “Do you have any fucking idea what it’s like to be in love with someone your entire life, but know that person will never love you back -- not in the same way? Can you even understand the agony it is, to wake up every morning knowing no one will really understand you? Archie…”
Relationships: Archie Andrews/Jughead Jones, Jarchie - Relationship
Comments: 5
Kudos: 82





	best friends

**Author's Note:**

> this takes place sometime between s1 and s2 i guess gdhsfgd also it was kind of rushed ik but i hope yall enjoy my one contribution to riverdale!!

“Jug…?” Archie breathed from under the covers. 

Jughead rolled over in his sleeping back to face Archie, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. “What is it?” he asked.

“I just…” he stopped himself for a moment. How was he supposed to articulate this? “I miss this…” He sighed out a small laugh. “I miss us. Back when it was you and me. I miss the sleepovers, the nights we’d stay up talking…” He reached for Jughead’s hand. “I’m sorry…” 

Jughead took his hand and stared back at him with the hint of a smile behind his eyes. “S’okay, Arch. Hey, we’re hanging out now, aren’t we?” He rubbed his thumb over Archie’s hand. “I get what you mean though, really. I miss it being just the two of us -- before all of this. I wish things were that simple, but…” 

It had been years since the two of them had been this close. Their lives were filled with twists and turns; FP had been in and out of jail, Archie’s mom had left again, Jughead had joined the Serpents, Jason Blossom’s death had riled up the whole town only to be followed by Cliff Blossom’s suicide -- it felt like everything had been flipped upside-down. Then again, what was normal anymore? Archie just missed it… he missed the times when it was just the two of them against the world. But maybe that’s how it was all along? “Jug, I don’t know where I’d be without you,” Archie said, speaking his mind without much thought to it. He only realized the intensity of the statement when the words slipped out of his mouth.

“Archie?” Jughead sat up, his gaze burning. 

“Sorry man, I realize that sounded weird,” Archie quickly covered for himself. 

“N-no, it’s fine… Do you mean that?”

“I-I mean, yeah, sure, man. You’re my best friend after all…”

“Best friends…” Jughead repeated quietly as if it was to himself. Archie wondered about it, but couldn’t find it in himself to question Jughead. 

\--

It was about 3 am at this point and Jughead still lay restless in the night. Everything in him wanted to curl up next to Archie; maybe he’d feel safe then. He shivered under the covers of the sleeping bag. He sighed to himself and closed his eyes again.  _ Best friends _ , he repeated in his head. It was nice, but… he sighed. If he could only articulate it, if only he could put it into words. He considered himself a bit of a wordsmith, but when it came to Archie, he always drew a blank. Something about him just… it made his heart race whenever they did anything together. He felt warm when they were close. He wanted to be closer, but he knew deep down that Archie would never feel the same. 

“Jug, are you awake?”

The voice ripped Jughead from his thoughts. He turned around to face Archie. “Y-yeah, I am.” He gulped nervously. Why the hell was he nervous?

“Did I wake you up? Sorry.”

“No, I couldn’t fall asleep, honestly,” Jughead said truthfully. He couldn’t stop thinking about it. ‘ _ I don’t know where I’d be without you. _ ’ The words echoed through his head. 

“I can’t either.” Archie rolled over to face Jughead. “Wait, hey man… Are you okay?” His face was barely visible in the moonlight slipping through the bedroom window, but when Archie saw Jughead’s face, he knew something was up immediately. 

“Don’t worry about it, Archie.” The words stung when they came out. He didn’t mean for his tone to have that kind of bitterness to it, but he knew Archie felt it too by the look on his face. “Sorry…” he said after a moment of awkward silence between them. “It’s fine though, really.”

Archie tilted his head at Jughead. He looked like a damn puppy with that look on his face. “Jughead... what’s really on your mind?” 

Jughead sighed. He knew he couldn’t just lie to someone who called him his best friend. He stared up at the ceiling, not wanting to even make eye contact with Archie. “Do you ever want something… but deep down, you know it can never happen?”

“Yeah… I think I understand that.”

Jughead could feel his walls tumbling down like it was Pompeii. The ash burned his throat. He couldn’t take it anymore. “No, Archie, you  _ don’t  _ understand,” he finally snapped.

“What? Jug, I -”

“Do you have any fucking idea what it’s like to be in love with someone your entire life, but know that person will never love you back -- not in the same way? Can you even understand the agony it is, to wake up every morning knowing no one will  _ really  _ understand you? Archie…”

Archie sat up, facing Jughead with tears in his eyes. “Jughead, I… What do you mean by all this?”

“Just… don’t bother. Don’t worry about it. I’m just sleep-deprived, anyways. Forget it.” 

“Jughead!” Suddenly, Jughead felt a pair of hands grip his shoulders. He was face-to-face with Archie, his face red-hot. Their lips collided. Archie took over his senses. All Jughead could hear, see, feel, touch, and taste was Archie. In a split second, everything revolved around him. When he pulled away, the two of them were breathless. “Jughead, I’m sorry, I -”

Jughead’s hands were shaking. “Archie, I…” He searched the other boy’s eyes but found no hint of deceit. He looked at his hands. “I-I didn’t realize….”

“I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have, I just --”

“No, Archie…” Jughead took in a deep breath. “That was everything I could have asked for. Really.”

“Y-you feel the same?”

He nodded. “Archie Andrews, I have been in love with you my entire life. Every time I’m near you, I feel like it’s home. Not with FP. Not with mom. Not with Jellybean. With you. Archie… I love you.”

“Jughead… I had… I had no idea, really, I just… I can’t believe I’m in love with my best friend.”

“I had no idea my best friend was in love with me either.”


End file.
